Saturday, February 13, 2010

The all time Chicago White sox great who had one of the greatest eyes in the game known as the Big Hurt calls it quits. Sox to retire uniform number

Two-time American League MVP Frank Thomas, one of the most feared hitters of his generation, has announced his retirement after playing 19 seasons in the majors.

Thomas made the announcement Thursday at a function in Chicago and the White Sox, the team for which he spent the majority of his career, said Friday they would honor him with a special day next August and retire his uniform number.

"I am officially retired. It's time. It's in my heart and it's time to move on," Thomas told Chicago's Comcast SportsNet Thursday night. "I'm proud to say I'm ready to retire. I enjoyed a wonderful career and have nothing left to prove. It's a young man's game now."

A five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, Thomas spent 16 seasons with the Chicago White Sox (1990-2005) before finishing up in Toronto and Oakland. He hit a combined eight homers with 30 RBI in 71 games in 2008 and failed to land a team last season.

The burly 6-foot-5 Thomas, who played first base when he wasn't penciled in as a designated hitter, compiled a lifetime .301 batting average with 521 home runs and 1,704 RBI.

He won back-to-back AL MVP honors in 1993 and '94 with Chicago, which will officially retire his No. 35 on August 29. In those award-winning seasons, he cranked out a combined 79 homers with 229 RBI and hit a career-high .353 in 1994. His last year with the White Sox ended with a World Series championship, the first for the franchise since 1917.

"Everyone who enjoyed watching Frank Thomas perform during his outstanding career with the White Sox quickly realized we were watching one of the greatest offensive players of all-time, a player destined to re-write our club's record books," said Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the White Sox. "When your career comes to an end and your body of work is compared to Hall of Famers like Mel Ott, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, you truly rank among baseball royalty. I believe it is only a matter of time until Frank receives the game's greatest honor in Cooperstown and he unquestionably deserves the honor of being recognized among the elite White Sox players in this franchise's history by having his No. 35 retired."

Thomas, now 41, wound up with 2,468 hits and 1,667 walks and a robust .419 on- base percentage, good for 21st all-time.